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SERVICES 

HELD BY THE 

'' IN 

CHARLES STREET M. E. CHURCH, 
On the Evening of June Ist^ 1865, 



BEING 



([ 2"?ie (I)ay of Humiliation and (Prayer appointed 

(by the (President of the United 
States of jfimeri'3a. 






Sherwood k Co., Printers, Baltiinore 



®4^ 









AMEEICAN UNION COMMISSION, 

Nos. 89 AND 91 W. Baltimore Street, Baltimore. 



TO THE AMERICAN CRUBGR AND PEOPLE— AN APPEAL. 



The desolation that reigns in the South at the present time almost baflfles de- 
scription. It challenges our deepest commiseration and magnanimity. Many 
of the people are scattered and homeless; their agriculture is broken up ; many 
of their homes, churches and school-houses are in ashes ; 'heir towns and cities 
are without trade ; their mills and founderies, their canals and railroads, are 
destroyed; the people are without employment or the means of support; their 
children are without the appliances of intellectual or moral education; their 
widows and orphans are weeping beside the graves of their dead, and thousands 
of their families are in exile. 

To meet this condition of things, and to assist the people to start again upon 
the high road of social and national prosperity, The American Union Commis- 
sion has heeu orga,nized. It is organized upon a national basis. Its object is 
to promote Industry, Education, Freedom, and Christian civilization. 

Now that the question of one nation, one Constitution and one destiny has 
reached a finality , let us rise in the majesty of a national charity, and help re- 
organize the broken fragments of society, and re»bind them around the national 
heart. This movement received the endorsement of our late lamented President, 
and also receives the cordial endorsement of President Johnson, and must re- 
ceive the approval and co-operation of all minds of liberal and comprehensive 
views. 

An exploration of the field reveals an appalling state of things. The necessity 
of immediate and general action is imperious. Thousands of families, that had 
no agency in bringing upon this section of our country this state of things, are 
in abject poverty and distress. Many of them were in affluent circumstances be- 
fore the war. ^ 

Let it not be said that, when Ireland and other foreign nations were in dis- 
tress, we came to their rescue, and that now we hide ourselves from • ur own 
flesh. Charity and the common dictates of humanity forbid it. But rather, in 
the spirit of a national charity and brotherhood, let us come to the rescue of this 
people from starvation and distress. "Blessed is he that c-nisidereth the poor, 
the Lord will deliver him in time of tr-ouble." " It is more blessed to give than 
to receive." " The liberal deviseth liberal things, and by liberal things shall he 
stand." This is as true of nations as individuals. In the name of God, and of 
our common humanity, let us act, and act at once. It is but justice to help our 
friends, and it is the command of Christ, " that, if thine enemy hunger, feed him; 
if he thirst, give him drink, and thus overcome evil with good." 

Send moneys to J. jST. Brown, Treasurer, and stores to Gr. S. Griffith, Presi- 
dent. 

Officers. — G. S. GriflBth, President; Pvcv. C. Dickson, D. D., Vice-President; 
J. (J. Bridges 2d Vice-President ; J. M. Frazier, 3d Vice-President; J. N. Brown, 
Treasurer, Banker, corner Calvert and Baltimore streets; Rev. F. Israel, Cor- 
responding Secretary; Rev- E. R. Eschbach, Recording Secretary; Rev. 0. M. 
McDowell, Financial Agent. 

Executive Committee.— G. S. Griflath, Chairman ; Wm. Bridges, Jesse Ty- 
son, Wm. B. Canfield, Sa.muel M. Shoemaker, J. Henry Giese, J. jN". Brown, J. 
C. Bridges, Dr. J. C. Thomas. 

Board of Managers of the Maryland Union Commission. — Rev. Cyrus 
Dickson, D. D., Dr J. C Thomas, G. F. Hopkins, Rev. H. Dunning, Hon. J. M. 
Frazier, John Hurst, G. S. Griffith, J. C. Bridges, Wm. B. Canfield, W. F. Carey, 
Rev. John KuUing, J. Henry Giese, J. Russell Kelso, Rev. Fielder Israel, Rev. I. 
P. Cook, Dr. J. F. Winslow, John Coates, Thos. G. Makenzie, Wm. Bridges, 
Jesse Tyson, R. M. Janny, Wm. Crane, Samuel M. Shoemaker, Henry Kelsey, 
John N. Brown, Rev. E. R. Eschbach, W. A. Wisong, Rev. George P. Hays, 
John L. Reid, R. H. Williams, Frederick, Md. 



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Services held in Charles Street Church, June 1, 1865. 



The meeting was called to order by the President of the 
Maryland Union Commission, and ably addressed by Rev. 
Cyrus Dickson, D. D., and Rev. Lyman Abbott, Secretary 
of the American Union Commission, and Rev. Isaac P. 
Cook. The meeting was deeply interesting, and a collec- 
tion of over ^1,200 was taken to aid this noble charity. 

The following programme will indicate the order of ex- 
ercises. After the meeting was called to order by the 
President, G. S. Griffith, the congregation joined in sing- 
ing: 

From all that dwell below the skies, 
Let the Creator's praise arise ; 
Let the Redeemer's name be sung, 
1'hrough every land, by every tongue. 

Eternal are thy mercies, Lord — 
Eternal truth attends thy word ; 
Thy praise shall sound from shore to shore, 
Till suns shall rise and set no more. 

Your lofty themes, ye mortals, bring. 
In songs of praise divinely sing ; 
The great salvation loud proclaim, 
And shout for joy the Saviour's name. 

In every land begin the song — 
To every land the strains prolong ; 
In cheerful sounds all voices raise, 
And fill the world with loudest praise. 



The Scriptures were read by Rev. A. E Gibson, of the 
Broadway Methodist Episcopal Church, followed by a 
prayer by Rev. H. Dunning, of the Presbyterian Church. 
The congregation then joined in singing the following 
verses : 

Father of mercies, send thy grace, 

All powerful from above, 
To form in our obedient souls 

The image of thy love. 

! may our sympathizing breasts 

That generous pleasure know, 
Kindly to share in others' joy, 

And weep for others' woe. 

When poor and helpless sons of grief 

In deep distress are laid, 
Soft be our hearts their pains to feel. 

And swift our hands to aid. 

On wings of love the Saviour flew. 

To bless a ruined race ; 
We would, Lord, thy steps pursue, 

Thy bright examples trace. 

The meeting was now addressed in a few prefatory re- 
marks by Rev. George P. Hays, Treasurer of M. B. 
Christian Commission, which were pertinent to the occa- 
sion. The Rev. Mr. Hays arose and said that the necessity 
of organizing a Union Commission in Baltimore appeared 
from the number of refugees that daily flocked to the Chris- 
tian Commission rooms for help to return to their homes, 
from which they had been driven by a merciless conscrip- 
tion. Twenty-five and thirty are coming daily. And then 
the utter destitution of many portions of country where the 
armies had passed and repassed, devouring and destroying 



everything, forced upon the community the necessity of 
some organization to meet this condition of things. The 
money and stores contributed for the relief of the sick and 
wounded soldiers and sailors could not be diverted from its 
original design. 

He said that many confounded the U. S. Christian Com- 
mission and the American Union Commission, by suppos- 
ing they were one and the same thing. That the U. S. 
Christian Commission had been organized with reference to 
the army and navy, and had accomplished a glorious work, 
and had nearly finished its legitimate purpose ; but the 
Union Commission had been organized with reference to 
citizens that had been reduced to poverty and distress by 
the war. 

He further remarked that G. S. Griffith had received 
several letters from Rev. Jos. P. Thompson, D. D., of 
New York, President of the Parent Society, urging the 
importance of organizing a branch Union Commission in 
Baltimore. Mr. Griffith desired such an organization, and 
was willing to contribute to its funds ; and beyond this, he 
desired nothing for himself. A Board of Manao^ers was 
elected, and while Mr. Griffith was on a tour to the South 
to inspect the condition of the people, he was elected to the 
Presidency of the Maryland Union Commission ; and from 
the satisfactory manner in which he had discharged the ar- 
duous duties as Chairman of the Maryland Branch of the 
U. S. Christian Commission, they have no doubt fixed upon 
the right man He also stated that the American Union 
Commission had the sanction of the authorities of the U. S. 
Government. 

Then came the addresses of Revs. Dickson, Abbott and 
Cook, which were able, appropriate, and secured the closest 



6 

attention of a large audience to a late hoar. A liberal col- 
lection followed. 

The following was the closing of the programme for the 
evening : 

The Watchman's Report. 

Watchman, tell us of the night, 

What its signs of promise are. 
Trav'ler, o'er jon mountain's heigkt, 

See the glory-beaming star. 
Watchman, does its beauteous ray 

Aught of hope or joy foretell ? 
Trav'ler, yes, it brings the day — 

Promised day of Israel. 

Watchman, tell us of the night, 

For the morning seems to dawn. 
Trav'ler, darkness takes its flight, 

Doubt and terror are withdrawn. 
Watchman, let thy wand' ring cease, 

Hie thee to thy quiet home. 
Trav'ler, lo ! the Prince of Peace — 

Lo ! the Son of God is come. 

Prayer by Rev. Dr. Cole. Doxology. Benediction by 
Rev. E. R. Eschbach. 



ADDRESS OP REV. DR. DICKSON. 

Rev. Dr. Dickson was now introduced to the audience, 
and spoke as follows : 

My Christian Friends : — I am profoundly impressed 
with the fitness of this service ti terminate the solemnities 
of this day. The nation has been called to mourn the loss 
of her Chief Magistrate, and to humble itself before God, in 



view of His dispensations, with prayer and fastings. Je- 
hovah, by the Prophet Isaiah, three thousand years ago, 
pointed out clearly the manner in which such services must 
be observed, in order to secure the divine approbation. 
** Is not this the Fast which I have chosen? Is it not to 
deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring into thy 
house those that are cast out ? When thou seest the naked 
that thou cover him, and that thou hide not thyself from 
thine own flesh " — Isa., Iviii : 7. 

To-night we are met to " deal our bread to the hungry," 
as Jehovah commanded his Israel of old. This is the very 
object of ''The American Union Commission." 

A few hours after the evacuation of Richmond, on the 
morning of the 3d of April, its office was opened in that 
city, and began at once to distribute ; at first to all appli- 
cants — afterwards, to those commended by ministers of the. 
gospel. Now the city is divided into districts, under the 
care of trustworthy men, by whom each application is ex- 
amined personally and reported. 

Stores of all kinds, suitable for the sick, or hungry, or 
destitute, as tea, coffee, sugar, flour, farina, crackers, &c., 
&c., are distributed on the recommendation of this commit- 
tee of citizens. Besides, the Commission has a large soup- 
house, used by the ladies of Richmond during the war, at 
which is made, and gratuitously distributed, daily, three 
hundred gallons of excellent soup. This soup-house ought 
to be called Bethesda — a house of mercy. 

As to the extent and duration of the work of the Com- 
mission, it must be wide as the immense sections of country 
• desolated by the war, and will last as long as its sufierings 
and necessities continue. 



The urgency is immediate and pressing. Food, clothing, 
seed-corn, and implements of agriculture, must be furnished 
at once. They are in need of all things. More than a 
thousand barns and mills have been destroyed in the Valley 
of Virginia and along the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge ! 
I was told by a farmer in Petersburg that corn, if planted 
before the 15th of June, would ripen in the counties about 
Lynchburg. The glorious Valleys of the Shenandoah and 
James must wave this autumn with fields of yellow corn, 
or the woes of famine will oppress the poor people during 
the sad days and nights of next winter. The mills must be 
rebuilt, and the now broken water-wheel must turn again, 
to prepare the flour and meal for the hungry in these un- 
happy sections. We must help them to bring back the 
lowing cattle, the sheep, the swine, the domestic fowls — the 
many things which, before the^desolation of war, made these 
sections the garden of the land. 

Will the rich States of Maryland, Pennsylvania and New 
York, who, a few years ago, sent bread to the millions of 
famine-stricken Ireland, refuse now to feed and clothe their 
countrymen — their "own flesh and blood?" No, my 
brethren ! No, it cannot, it must not, be ! Shall they 
who, in 1824, gave a listening ear to the cry of sufl*ering 
from far away beyond the blue Atlantic and Mediterranean 
and sent to Greece the relief she needed, be insensible to 
the wants and woes of their own countrymen? No, my 
brethren ! they must be supplied. 

As for motives to stimulate us to the work, there is : 
First. Our sympathy for sufferings so great, so vast, so 
pressing, and so painful — a sympathy that rises irrepressibly . 
in every heart. 



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Second. Our duty as Christians. The words of the Lord 
Jesus are conclusive ; "If thine enemy hunger, feed him ; 
if he thirst, give him drink." They need no exposition or 
enforcement. They are the words of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

If such be the duty to enemies, how much more towards 
countrymen and fellow-christians ? Many of these sufferers 
are our kindred, " bone and blood," and no more the cause 
of these calamities than we ourselves; many of them loyal, 
through all trials and exposures, to the flag and graves and 
country of our common fathers. If I should feed my ene- 
my, much more my friend. 

Patriotism demands it. Whatever else these four event- 
ful years have shown, this one thing has been plainly de- 
monstrated : that the people of this land are to live together. 
From the gulf to the lakes, and from ocean to ocean, we 
shall be but one country. It is then our highest interest to 
cultivate peace and brotherly kindness among ourselves. 
There are enough elements in this land to cause continual 
strife and division. These "roots of bitterness" will be 
eradicated and destroyed, by God's blessing, on such kind 
offices and ministrations as we are met to-night to promote. 
These will make us *' lepairers of the breach, and restorers 
of the paths to dwell in." 

In additon to this — if the predictions of God's word be 
rightly read — the world is near that final struggle, styled 
in Revelations, *' The Battle of the Great Day of God Al- 
mighty !" In those tremendous conflicts, it is of the very 
last moment to ourselves, our religion, and our race, that 
this land should be one in fact, as well as form — one in 
heart, as well as one in home. 

What, then, so divinely designed to accomplish this true 
and happy unity, in view of these near and terrific strug- 
1* 



10 

gles, as this feeding diud clothing our destitute and distressed 
countrymen ? If we meet the responsibilities now upon us, 
we shall illustrate to our* land and to our times, and to all 
lands and to all times, ixne philanthropy , religion 2iTi^ patri- 
otism ; shall secure the good of our country, the commen- 
dations of mankind, and the approbation of God. In after 
years, history will record in brighter characters, and the 
coming generations read with pro founder pleasure, of our 
gifts for the needy, than the struggles and heroism of our 
camps and our battle-fields. 



ADDEESS OP REV. LYMAN ABBOTT. 

Ladies and Gentlemen : — I propose to answer to-night 
some questions which are frequently asked me. I wish 
indeed you could ask the questions yourselves which you 
would wish me to answer. But since this is not admissible, 
I must imagine them ; assuming that you will wish sub- 
stantially the same information which others have sought. 

'What is the Union Commission? 

It is a national organization. It consists of Commissions 
already established in the cities of Baltimore, New York, 
Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Nashville, Richmond, Charles- 
ton, and other places. These are all united in one National 
organization. The officers of the various district Commis- 
sions, together with a Central Committee in New York, 
constitute the American Union Commission. In its general 
features, it thus greatly resembles the Christian Commission, 
the practical wisdom of whose organization has been de- 
monstrated by its past efficiency. 



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What is the object of the Union Commission ? 

The first article of its Constitution answers that question. 
''It is constituted for the purpose of aiding and co-operating 
with the people of those portions of the United Stages which 
have been impoverished and desolated by the war, in the 
restoration of their civil and social condition upon the basis 
of industry, education , freedom and christian morality ^ I 
pray you note those last four words. We recognize no civili- 
zation that is not bailt upon a universal industry, general 
education, the freedom of all men, and the christian religion. 
Some think that because the war is over, and peace declared, 
and the trumpet and drum know no music but that of 
triumph, that therefore our work is ended. No ! It is but 
just begun. Where we have destroyed, we must rebuild. 

But what specific things has this Commission done, what is 
it doing, what does it propose to do ? 

I. It has already provided for the immediate and pressing 
wants of thousands of refugees. As the waves of war have 
surged to and fro over the Southern States, these have 
flocked in great crowds to our Nothern borders. Many 
haTje been loyal. Most have been helpless women and 
children. Multitudes have died from exposure and want. 
By scores and hundreds they have been brought by govern- 
ment, and laid upon the wharves of St. Louis, Cairo, 
Louisville, Cincinnati, in the West, or left in the streets of 
Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York in the East. The 
State has said, they are not our poor, we cannot provide 
for them. The county has said they do not belong to us, 
we cannot shelter them. The Sanitary and Christian Com- 
missions have properly said we have no right to use our 
funds in their behalf. Yet it was impossible for a Christian 



12 

people to suffer tliem to die of want in the midst of plenty. 
The first duty of the Union Commission has been to render 
these unfortunate sufferers temporary aid. We have been 
provided by government with every facility for that purpose ; 
transportation, rations, and often buildings have been fur- 
nished. Acting under the authority and with the co- 
operation of government, the Commission has received these 
unfortunates, has provided temporary homes at different 
points, has furnished them with food, clothing, shelter, 
medicine, has cared for the sick and the infirm, and has 
provided the able-bodied with permanent means of employ- 
ment throughout the country. It has thus made provision 
for many thousands of refugees, and prevented a pauperism 
which threatened at one time to be the greatest and most 
terrible the world has ever seen. 

II. But the war has ceased. The exigencies which have 
compelled these people to abandon their homes are over. 
Henceforth our work lies chiefly in the Southern States 
themselves. The destitution which exists in many localities 
there is appalling, Thousanas of people, living in the 
midst of a once rich and fertile country, are left without 
any adequate means of support. Rich and poor, loyal 
and disloyal, guilty and innocent, are overwhelmed in a 
common ruin. That ruin, it is true, they have brought 
upon themselves. It was the inevitable necessity of war. 
Nothing less would suffice to break the spirit and power of 
a causeless rebellion. I do not condemn the punishment 
as too severe. I defend it as just and necessary. But the 
rebellion is ended. The foe prostrate and bleeding lies at the 
feet of a victorious nation. There is no need of further pun- 
ishment. Magnanimity will scorn to strike a fallen foe ; nay, 
will nake haste to give it both the quarter and succor that 



13 

it asks. From the wilds of Arkansas to the Atlantic coafet, 
from the valley of the Shenandoah to the Gulf, there comes 
to our ears the wail of hunger, the cry for bread. In the 
city of Richmond alone some three thousand people were 
thrown out of employment by the fires set by rebel hands. 
Their little ones cry for food. The impoverished city can 
do nothing for them. The richest are poor. Ladies of the 
highest position carry their jewels and their family plate to 
the commanding General, and beg him to raise a little money 
on them to support their destitute and desolate familes. 
Shall they be refused? Shall plenty leave poverty to starve ? 

I hear the voice of a surly objecter — " Good enough for 
them. Starving are they ; and in rags, and dying? Our 
prisoners starved and went in rags, and died in Richmond. 
Let them eat the bread they set for us," 

Friend ! listen to a story. A year ago last winter, when 
our prisoners were sufi'ering the untold horrors of that 
terrible imprisonment on Belle Isle, had you been there, you 
might have seen every alternate day a poor woman, crossing 
in a boat to the p'ace of their confinement. Her husband 
had gone North before the war, enlisted in the Union ranks, 
never been heard of since, and doubtless lies to-day (-ne of 
the great host of unknown dead. Always loyal, this wo- 
man's heart was now doubly consecrated to the Union by 
the baptism of her husband's blood. In every patriot soldier 
she saw a brother. Perhaps she hoped some day to learn 
of him, of whose safety she did not yet utterly despair. 

Twice or thrice a week, and sometimes oftener, she filled 
her basket with provisions, begged in the name of her des- 
titute family, or given by a wealthier but equally loyal 
neighbor under cover of charity, and carried them to our 
imprisoned boys. Often her children begged with tears for 



14 

some addition to their scanty meal from the well filled 
basket; but always in vain. Never was shew bread in the 
ancient Temple more religiously dedicated to the service of 
the Lord, than the contents of that basket, to the service of 
christian patriotism. All winter long, at personal hazard 
to herself, that poor woman, poor in money, in knowledge, 
in position, but rich in great-hearted patriotism, a com- 
moner, but of God's nobiUty, all winter long was the Sani- 
tary and Christian Commission to our suffering soldiers on 
Belle Isle. Last week I saw her in Richmond. She was 
without means, money or employment. Her landlady 
threatened to turn her out of doors unless she continued to 
pay in Uaited States currency the exorbitant rent she had 
paid in worthless Confederate paper. And when our agen*- 
brought me to her, and I learned the story of her want from 
her own lips, while the story of her services I learned chiefly 
from the lips of others, tell me, my friend, ought I to have 
answered as the message of the patriotic North, " Good 
enough for you." In securing for her an employment, and 
means of livelihood, did I more than you would have me 
do? 

III. But there is another work no less important thaa 
this of providing temporary relief. Industry is dead. The 
mean.^ of industry are destroyed. These must be refur- 
nished, that labor may be reviv^ed, and communities saved 
from that danger of pauperism which is now really immi- 
nent. The people, sick of the rebellion, weary of war, 
desire to go to work. Even those who have never labored 
are willing to begin. But they are without implements — 
they are without the means to buy. They sit in enforced 
idleness. If we do not wish one-half our country to be 
blasted with the mildew of a permanent poverty, we must 



15 

encourage and assist in the establishment of free and 
universal labor. Last week, in company with two others 
of our Commission, I took a ride of twenty miles about 
Richmond. We calculated that in that ride we saw two 
miles of fencing, a hundred acres of corn, and half «s much 
of wheat. We saw one sheep, two pigs, and twenty to 
twenty-five head of cattle — hors'^s, mules, cows, oxen, 
calves, all told. I saw in Richmond one farmer who told 
me he had three hundred and twenty acres of land, that his 
whole stock in trade consisted of two chickens and one pig, 
that he traveled forty miles to buy an axe, and paid four 
dollars and seventy-five cents for it, that he spent three 
days and a half in hunting for a rake, and finally came 
away and left his boy to continue the search. Those that 
would work cannot — worse than the ancient Israelites, they 
are required to make their bricks without straw, clay, trowel 
or kiln. The loyal few of Richmond said : Gen. Ord himself 
said, by all means send us seed and implements. I met a poor 
woman who had a farm ten miles south of the city. Her 
husband was blind — her servants, as in multitudes of cases, 
desired to continue with her. "I have no fault to find 
with the Yankees," she said. (We are all Yankees now, 
you know ) "They were very kind to me. They pre- 
served my property until a battle was imminent ; then they 
took me away — they pulled down my house to give better 
range to their guns — and as the armies swept along, we 
were carried with them — and I and my poor husband are 
without a home. If I can only get back, and get up a little 
shelter, and some seed, and a spade, my servants will come 
back, and we can raise enough this summer to get through 
the winter." Now one of three things is certain ; either, 
in our overflowing abundance wc must sit still with folded 



16 

arms and blinded eyes and deafened ears, and let thafc 
woman starve, or we must feed her and her dependent 
husband all winter long, or we must send them iiow, the 
^pade, and hoe, and rake, and seed, that they may support 
themselves. This is true benevolence, to help the indus- 
trious and the willing to help themselves. And this is 
the work we are doing. We are sending food, clothing, 
seed and implements into the States of Arkansas, Tennes- 
see, Virginia, North and South Carolina and Georgia, and 
mean to extend our work into every desolated State. Nobly, 
generously, heartily, have the people of the North supported 
us thus far. In about six months, we have expended in 
money and supplies, nearly, if not quite, ^100,000 in this 
work )f relief and restoration. But what is this among so 
many? If every dollar were a hundred the supply would 
not be great, nor the work overdone. 

IV. The temporary relief of these people is the most 
immediate, but it is not the most important work we have 
to do. I need not remind you that in many of these States 
there have never been any efficient systems of education. 
The great mass of the people have grown up in ignorance, 
an ignorance which rendered them the prey of the politi- 
cians ; which alone rendered this rebellion possible. The 
few schools which once existed have been closed during the 
war. In one of our schools at Richmond I asked a class of 
twenty, the highest class it was, how many had been to 
school during the past year. Four raised their hands. One 
had been a fortnight, one two months. In Nashville there 
has been no school since the occupation of the city. For 
four years the boys of the South have been running wild ; 
the devil has been their only teacher. A few shools have 
been preserved amid the general wreck. The work of 



17 

education we are entering upon. We can obtain scholars, 
teachers, buildings. We only need the money to open at 
once hundreds of schools, where the lessons of Union, 
liberty and the christian religion, shall be wisely taught, 
and you may be sure, gladly learned. 

V. Such is our present work, while other labors loom up 
in the future, indefinite but grand. A free press must be 
established, and will require aid from Northern capital. 
Emigration must be stimulated, guided, directed. Statis- 
tical information must be obtained and made accessible. In 
short, all things must be done necessary to bind together 
these States in a Union of love, as well as of law. 

A great work is this, you say ; and impracticable. Great 
it is — but the American people are a great people. Im- 
practicable it is not. Daniel Webster, standing upon 
Bunker Hill, where he was to speak upon the dedication of 
the monument, was so pressed upon by the swaying crowd, 
that there was danger that platform and speaker would be 
overwhelmed and crushed, "Stand back a little, gentlemen," 
said he. "It is impossible, Mr. Webster," replied some 
one in the crowd. "Impossible," echoed the great states" 
man, "nothing is impossible on Bunker Hill." Great is 
the work I have endeavored to depict to you — but not 
impossible. Nothing is impossible to those who by the last 
four years have demonstrated their ability to accomplish 
impossibilities. A great work it is; and as glorious 
as great. I do not wonder that President Lincoln, who 
with his own hand revised our Constitution, and endorsed it 
as it stands, said, when the purpose of this Commission was 
explained to him, "Gentlemen, it is a work that must be 
done, and receives my hearty sanction." I do not wonder 
that President Johnson, who had known something of its 



18 

operations in Tennessee, said last week to a delegation 
which visited him, "Grentleraen, anything I can do, per- 
sonally or officially, to aid you in this work, I will gladly do." 
It is not strange that every department of the government 
affords us needed facilities ; nor surprising that those gen- 
tlemen of the South whose loyalty, tried in the hot furnace, 
has come forth as gold seven times purified, should every- 
where receive us with a cordial greeting of warmest welcome. 
This is not a work of charity I set before you, it is one of 
patriotism. We have but one country. The boundaries of 
the States do not separate us ; they only bind us in a closer 
union. The desolations of Tennessee, Virginia, the Caro- 
linas, are the desolations of my own dear land. In the 
erection in every State of genuine republicanism, universal 
freedom, revived industry, popular education, you, I, every 
American possesses the strongest interest. Every American 
should make haste to participate in the work of establishing 
a Christian civilization. But of all States in the Union, 
Maryland should be first in this sublime labor ; Maryland 
that has stood like a rock in the midst of a stormy sea, 
about which the waves of secession have roared and rolled 
in vain ; Maryland, first to abolish slavery from her own 
borders, and only second to adopt the Constitutional amend- 
ment abolishing it from all the land ; Maryland, on whose 
statute books there stands to-day a system of education 
esteemed by competent judges the best which now exists in 
all the Union ; Maryland, whose banners are all aglow with 
the ruddy light of that latter day glory, toward which now, 
thank Grod, the face of the whole nation expectant turns ; 
Maryland, not only by her sublime example, but also by 
her kindly words and generous deeds, should assist as well 
as summon her prostrate companions to rise, that they may 



19 



stand with her in the same rank, march under the same 
banner, and share the same blessings of peace and prosperity, 
under the national emblem of liberty and union. 



ADDRESS OF REV. ISAAC P. COOK. 

Rev. Isaac P. Cook, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
remarked in substance as follows : 

Mr. President: — The "American Union Commission,*' 
the interests of which we have met to promote, is a new 
candidate for public favor and support. 

The introduction of a stranger, is not sufficient to secure 
your confidence and co-operation ; it is necessary to know 
the object of his visit, and the work in which he proposes 
to engage, before you will be prepared to extend to him 
your influence, and solicit the aid of others in the promotion 
of his enterprise. 

Among the most remarkable events of the age in which 
we live, was the organization of the "Christian Commis- 
sion " The history of its work of patriotic and christian 
love, will be read by future generations with wonder and 
admiration. 

The signal overthrow of the rebellion, and the triumph 
of the national arms, will soon render any farther service 
by the "Christian Commission," unnecessary. Its noble 
spirited leaders will retire from the fields which they have 
occupied, with the thanks of the nation and with the ap- 
proval of God. 

Meanwhile, as the dark cloud of war is being lifted up 
from the States in rebellion, new scenes are developing, 
and wide-spread avenues are opening before us, for the ex- 
ercise of humanity and kindness. 



20 

Refugees, embraciDg men, women and children, from 
Southern States, are seeking shelter among the loyal people 
of the country. These sujfferers are destitute of nearly every 
earthly comfort, and have no prospect of relief from their de- 
plorable condition, except from the people of the loyal States. 

The impoverished families of the South are also appealing 
for aid. With a worthless currency, destitute of food, 
clothing, grain for their fields, agricultural implements to 
cultivate their land, and the means of education for their 
children ; should not their cry for relief be heard and re- 
sponded to, before the cold and storms of the coming winter 
set in ? 

The loyal among these people, without regard to sex or 
color, should be relieved. 

Nor should such acts of kindness be withheld from those 
who, under the pressure of circumstances surrounding them, 
could scarcely resist the tide which swept them into the 
Confederate army. No help should be extended to a rebel 
in arms ; but when he is conquered and subdued, we may 
relieve him, as a suffering, and we hope, a repentant brother. 

We have no words of extenuation for the crimes of the 
leaders of the rebellion ; but for the masses of the South, 
the widows and orphans of those who have fallen in battle, 
we have commiseration, and would encourage acts of 
christian kindness and philanthropy. 'Tis christian to be 
magnanimous, to a discomfited and suffering community. 

The •• American Union Commission" proposes to enter 
this vast field, and to the extent of the means placed 
at its disposal, to relieve the classes of persons we 
have enumerated. It is due to the public, that it should 
be distinctly understood, that the ''American Union Com- 
mission" has no sympathy with treason ! If it were other- 



•21 

wise, your speaker and those with whom he is associated in 
this work, would separate themselves from it. Words of 
earnest caution have been addressed to members of this new 
* 'Commission," by loyal and patriotic citizens, prompted 
on their part, by an apprehension, that inconsiderate aid 
and relief granted to the people of the South, may encourage 
the spirit of rebellion among them, and weaken the power 
of the national government. 

Your speaker solicitftd contributions this morning m a 
neighboring church for this cause. In one of the collection 
plates a note was found, carefully written, nearly in the 
following language : ^'Do you think it appropriate to make 
collections for the relief of the people who sustained the rebel- 
lion, which led to the assassination of President Lincoln^ 
and that, too, on the day when we have met to commemorate 
his virtues?" 

This same question has occupied the minds of others. It 
should be answered satisfactorily. If this proposed action 
is against our nation, if it could in any manner betray a 
want of proper regard for the martyr President, then no 
loyal man should touch it, or give it his countenance. 

This question had to be solved by your speaker, before 
this public meeting commenced. 

God's Holy Word furnished an answer, ''if thine enemy 
hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink." This is 
the highest authority. 

Not professing to hold converse with departed spirits, no 
appeal was made to the spirit of Abraham Lincoln for an 
answer to the question proposed by his devoted friend. No 
doubt, however, was entertained, if the spirit of that kind- 
hearted man could have been invoked for such a purpose, 



22 
his reply to his fellow-countrymen would have been, "Feed, 

CLOTHE, RELIEVE, EDUCATE, YOUR VANQUISHED ENEMIES AND 
MINE." 

Who doubts it ? 

No kinder man breathed than President Lincoln : if he 
erred, it was in executive clemency; he was devising meas- 
ures of conciliation and kindnsss, when the wickedness of 
the rebellion culminated in his assassination. 

We have a final reply to the above question, in the ap- 
proval of the President of the United States, of the object 
and work of the ' 'American Union Commission." The facil- 
ities of the government will be afi'orded to its authorized 
agents and delegates. 

Let us, therefore, give to the " American Union Com- 
mission," our countenance and generous support. Let 
the distributions made by its agents, be just and equal 
among the citizens. Let no loyal family be neglected on 
account of their color or position in society. Extend gen- 
erous aid to the widows and orphan children, of those who 
fell in the so-called Southern cause. They erred, grie- 
vously erred ; but do not visit the sins of the father upon 
his helpless and homeless little ones. 

The future character and success of the "American 
Union Commission," will depend upon the wisdom and 
prudence of its management. As none but known loyal 
citizens have the control of its operations, we may confi- 
dently rely, that it will always and everywhere, promote 
loyalty to the government, the principles of freedom, educa- 
tion and morality. 



A BRIEF SKBTCH 

MARYLANi:) BRANCH 

AT a meeliog in bthalf of the Cbrlatiau 
CommiasioQ, held ia tbe Lutheran 
h al Oambcrbad, Md,, od llic evcDing 

by the Rev. Wm. H. Gilbert, Army 
Agent of tbe Americoo Bible Society : 









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